Traditionally, project management software carries a steep learning curve, often has a clunky interface and many times requires you to purchase extra software to integrate things such as helpdesk tickets or inventory management. Comindware has a set of online collaboration tools to help you manage your business more effectively and I’ve recently been introduced to a piece of software that has the potential to revolutionize project management: Comindware Tracker™.
More than just issue tracking or simple project management, Comindware Tracker™ is a suite of tools to truly help you optimize and streamline your business or organization. It sets itself apart in three key areas: convenience, flexibility and scope. If I’m working on a project away from the office, how readily can I access the data for that project? If some aspect of the project needs to be changed or resources redistributed, how easily can those changes be made? If a project spans multiple departments, can those be seamlessly integrated into the overall project? Those are questions that any project management software worth its salt should be able to answer. Comindware Tracker™ not only handles each of these, but does so with a power and technology that I believe is unmatched in the industry.
Convenience
The first thing you’ll notice about Comindware Tracker™ is the user interface – it is both familiar and user-friendly. Tracker utilizes a Microsoft Office “ribbon” style menu system, giving you quick and easy access to various functions. You don’t have to sort through long menu lists; nearly everything that you would want to do with Comindware Tracker is just a couple of clicks away. It also integrates with Microsoft Outlook to enable task management directly from within Outlook.
No longer do you have to build workflow processes from scratch. Comindware Tracker™ makes use of templates, allowing you to quickly create workflows for any process in any line of business. You can also create your own templates to tailor workflows even further. You can add fields on the fly without disrupting your existing items and change or add attributes to your custom fields. All of this is accomplished inside any modern web browser.
Flexibility
Comindware Tracker’s™ flexibility lies in its Semantic Data Storage technology. 
Nearly every database in today’s businesses is a relational database. That means data is stored in tables, which contain rows of fields and the fields in turn contain data. A relational database stores collections of tables, some of which may be related by common fields. Queries on relational databases can take a long time – I’m talking “go make a cup of coffee” long, especially if the database is large.
In a semantic database, data is stored in the form of graphs rather than tables. This allows the data to be manipulated without affecting the entire process. For example, in a relational database, if two databases are connected by a certain value within a field and you change that value in one field, you’ve broken the relationship and your entire workflow comes to a halt. In a semantic database, you can change the data without disrupting the workflow, allowing you to make “course corrections” after a project starts without having to scrap your entire workflow and rebuild it. In short, Semantic Data Storage works more like real life and less like a robot.
Scope
Often with database solutions, you pay up front for the core system, but then if you want to add something like inventory management, accounting or helpdesk solutions, you have to pay extra or buy a completely different program. Comindware Tracker™ gives you the power to manage each sector of your business from a single, unified system. You can oversee and automate as much or as little as you’d like, making it an excellent solution for nearly any size business.
I’m extremely impressed with Comindware Tracker™ and believe it has the power to revolutionize project management across businesses and industries. To find out more or download a free trial, visit www.comindware.com. If you find that Comindware Tracker™ is too robust for your organization’s needs, Comindware also offers task management software made with the same attention to detail, design and flexibility for free.
